“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26

#OTD June 13, 1525: German reformer Martin Luther, formerly a monk, married Katherine von Bora, a former nun who had escaped from her convent in a fish barrel. Their marriage was a bold public rejection of mandatory clerical celibacy.

#OTD June 12, 1744: David Brainerd, missionary to the New England Indians, is ordained by the Presbyterian Church. Within the next three years, he enjoyed success in his missionary efforts, but he died of tuberculosis at age 29. Much of Brainerd's influence on future generations can be attributed to the biography compiled by Jonathan Edwards and first published in 1749 under the title of An Account of the Life of the Late Reverend Mr. David Brainerd.

#OTD June 11, 1936: J. Gresham Machen and other conservatives founded the Presbyterian Church of America after separating from the increasingly liberal PCUSA. In 1939 the new denomination changed its name to the Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC), committing itself to historic Reformed doctrine and biblical fidelity.

#OTD June 10, 1692: Bridget Bishop became the first person hanged for witchcraft, during the ordeal known to history as the 'Salem Witch Trials.' In all, 20 people died before theological jurisprudence was restored in this isolated Puritan community in Massachusetts.

#OTD June 9, 1834: William Carey, often called "the father of modern Protestant missions" dies, having spent 41 years in India without a furlough. His mission could count only about 700 converts, but he had laid a foundation of Bible translations, education, and social reform. He also inspired the missionary movement of the nineteenth century, especially with his cry, "Expect great things; attempt great things"

#OTD June 9, 1953: The East German Communist government announced that its aggressive campaign against the churches had ended. It had repeatedly tried to force young people to abandon the Lutheran Junge Gemeinde youth organizations, but hundreds bravely remained faithful. Their steadfastness helped preserve Christian witness under Communist rule.

#OTD June 9, 68: Nero Claudius Caesar, the Roman emperor to whom the Apostle Paul appealed for justice (Acts 25:10), committed suicide. Nero ordered the first major imperial persecution of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome in 64 AD. His reign marked the beginning of systematic Roman opposition to the early Church.

#OTD June 7, 1891: Charles H. Spurgeon, the renowned English Baptist preacher who regularly drew around 6,000 people to his services, delivered his final sermon at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London. In it he declared: “Those who have no master are slaves to themselves. Depend upon it, you will either serve Satan or Christ, either self or the Saviour. You will find sin, self, Satan, and the world to be hard masters; but if you wear the livery of Christ, you will find him so meek and lowly of heart that you will find rest unto your souls. He is the most magnanimous of captains.”

#OTD June 6, 1886: John Williamson Nevin, a Calvinist theologian, died in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. He strongly opposed much of the 19th-century revivalism, believing it was too individualistic and failed to uphold the historic confessions of the Church.

#OTD June 5, 1865: Pastor Sabine Baring-Gould wrote the hymn “Onward Christian Soldiers” as a marching song for children walking between two villages during a Whit-Monday festival in Yorkshire, England. He composed it to keep the young procession together, and it has since become one of the most beloved hymns in the Church.

#OTD June 3, 1162: Thomas Becket was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury. Nominated by his friend King Henry II, for whom he had previously served as chancellor, Becket underwent a dramatic change. He became deeply pious and devoted to the rights of the Church, which increasingly frustrated the king. Later, after hearing Henry grumble against him, four knights murdered Becket as he prayed in Canterbury Cathedral.

#OTD June 2, 553: The Second Council of Constantinople concluded. The council condemned Nestorianism, the error that taught Jesus Christ was two separate persons (one divine and one human) rather than one Person with two natures. This decision helped affirm the orthodox Christian understanding of Christ as one divine Person with two natures, fully God and fully man.

#OTD June 1, 597: Ethelbert, King of Kent, was baptized after converting to Christianity. He became the first English king to embrace the faith. His conversion, influenced by the missionary Augustine of Canterbury, marked a pivotal moment in the Christianization of England.

#OTD June 1, 165: (traditional date) Justin, an early Christian apologist, is beheaded with his disciples for their faith. "If we are punished for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ, we hope to be saved," he said just before his death. Christians soon named him Justin Martyr.

One of the lesser known, but enduring martyrs through the Confession that is still used today by Reformed Christians across the world. Wrote all about him and the Confession here: reformedfellowship.net/produ…

#OTD May 31, 1567: Guido de Brès, Reformed pastor and author of the Belgic Confession, is hanged in Valenciennes for his faith. A key figure in the early Dutch Reformation, de Brès had written the confession to explain and defend Protestant beliefs to both King Philip II of Spain and the wider public.

#OTD May 30, 1416: Jerome of Prague was burned at the stake for heresy by the Council of Constance. A devoted follower of the reformer Jan Hus, he refused to recant his beliefs. As the flames were lit, he boldly cried out, “Bring thy torch hither: perform thy office before my face. Had I feared death, I might have avoided it.”

#OTD May 30, 339: Eusebius of Caesarea, known as the “Father of Church History,” died at age 74. He authored the influential 10-volume Ecclesiastical History, which remains one of our most important sources on the early Church. At the Council of Nicea he worked for peace between Arians and orthodox leaders. Though not an Arian himself, he later supported the deposition of Athanasius and opposed strong anti-Arian measures.

The Synod of Dort in Holland concluded after six months of intense debate. Confirming the authority of the Heidelberg Catechism, the decisions of the Synod led to around 200 Arminian clergy being deprived of their offices. This was a decisive moment for Reformed theology in the Netherlands.

#OTD May 29, 1874: G.K. Chesterton, English essayist, poet, and writer, was born in London. A master of paradox, which he called “supreme assertions of truth,” Chesterton used wit and insight to defend the Christian faith in a skeptical age. Poet T.S. Eliot later credited him with doing “more than any man in his time … to maintain the existence of the [Christian] minority in the modern world.”